Saturday, June 6, 2009

Ian Churchill is a comic book artist who is currently working for DC Comics. His most recent project was Supergirl. Past duties included stints with Uncanny X-Men as well as the Deadpool: Sins of the Past limited series, in addition to a lengthy stay on Cable, the latter gaining him (along with writer Jeph Loeb) fan acclaim. Loeb and Churchill were to later team up to produce Coven and Lionheart for Awesome Comics.

He is also the current artist for the most recent spin-off of the Teen Titans comic series, Titans, (volume 2) which features the New Teen Titans of the Marv Wolfman/George Perez era.

He agreed to answer 5 Quick Question

1) What would you say is your greatest achievement in comics?

I would have to say my greatest achievement in comics was getting hired in the first place! My big break came at a UK Comic Con where Bob Harras ( then EIC of Marvel ) reviewed my portfolio and pretty much hired me on the spot! I was very lucky to be in the right place at the right time and now have been working professionally in comics for 17 years.

2) Who was your favorite writer or artist that you worked with & why?

The first writer I ever worked with professionally was Scott Lobdell. I enjoyed working with him and would like to do so again if the opportunity arose. My favorite writer to work with though has to be Jeph Loeb. We seem to think the same way and that translates to the comic page in a fun and exciting way. I also enjoy working with Richard Starkings who I think is an amazing writer and a sheer force of nature! Best letterer and graphic designer in the business too in my opinion. As far as writers I haven't yet worked with; I'd like to do something with Grant Morrisson and Robert Kirkman.

3) What character you have never worked .., would you like to do & why?

I would love to have had the chance to work on Miracleman/Marvelman. I used to have an old Marvelman annual when I was a kid and just loved it but with the way the rights are tangled up at present I guess that's not going to happen any time soon. Another character I used to love as a kid and still do is Captain Britain, If there was ever a chance to work on him with the old red 70's costume I'd jump at it!

I remember the very first time I saw Capt: Robert April and his doctor wife Sarah. I was sick in bed and watching the Animated Star Trek episode: “The Counter-Clock Incident”. I had always wondered why there was never any mention about the first captain of the U.S.S Enterprise. I mean the animated episode was ok, but for some reason, I wanted to hear and see more about this man and his wife. Now I know over the years, some people have taken these characters and tried to flesh them out, but to little or no success. Well, that is until now.

Star trek: Crew #4 opens with our female lieutenant finally coming back to the place where this story began five years before: The now famous U.S.S Enterprise NCC- 1701. As the lieutenant disembarks from the transport shuttle in the hanger bay, she remarks at how the ship feels and looks very different than when she was there for its shakedown cruise. Now part of the junior officers, and serving as helmsman and navigator, it doesn’t take long for the action to settle in before she manages to.

Now, once the action starts, this is where we get to meet the current and future Captains of the NCC-1701, along with the ships first chief medical officer. All 3 characters: Robert April, his wife Dr. Sarah April, and Christopher Pike have always been portrayed to me as very two dimensional. Yes, they were part of the Star Trek Canon, but not much was done in order to breathe life into them. And if any Star Trek fans out there have been looking forward to that same application of depth of character John Byrne has so effortlessly injected throughout this series on these three, well your prayers have just been answered.

Although I am not going to spoil the main plot in this issue for you, I will say that out of all the stories which seem to have a `` full circle`` theme to them in regards to Star Trek cannon, this ranks right up there in the Top 5. Mr Byrne manages to take a generic Star Trek plot and completely make it his own, linking his work from another recent Trek comic, to show us what happened to a beloved character from the original series. Bravo Mr.Byrne, Bravo!

If anything this comic, and this issue specifically, seems to me as if it could be used as the perfect starting point for a new TV series, featuring Capt. April, Sarah, and the early days of the Enterprise. Never have I so wanted a comic book made into something for the small screen so badly. With the current relaunch of the Star Trek franchise, I would personally love to see this happening. The setting might be old and familiar, but the characters would be fresh and accessible to a whole new generation. And right now, I think this is what Star Trek and it`s loyal fan base needs: I know I do.

For the love of... Magic? Or how to be at the right place in the right...Time?

I LOVE magic, as well as those who practice it: The Illusionists, the prestidigitators, the odd mythical hermits, and even those crafty witches. If any of these terms are remotely familiar to you then you understand me. With a wave of a hand, a few oddly mumbled syllables and flash of light, anything seems possible. And what I and others like myself get from these occult gestures feels powerful, yet somewhat addictive! That is kind of why I am here, to tell you about adventures I have read and will be reading, and perhaps interest you enough to partake of travels of your own. My latest travel into the mystical has led me to a somewhat obscure character set in the DC Vertigo Universe named Madame Xanadu.

Without giving too much away about the previous issues in this series, I’d like to showcase a bit of what I love about these comics. We start as most myths do in Camelot, where the usual tale is unfolding. From there we begin to see the legacy and perhaps a bit of what the future holds for our tempestuous little nymph. If you are like me, and you love hints at things to come, then you will be pleasantly surprised as Madam Xanadu is chock full of them! From the reign of Kublai Khan in Ancient Cathay, we see her crafting the first tarot deck from syllables of her long dead ancient tongue.

Also, in what I think is a tip of the cap to the Golden Age Green Lantern mythology, we observe young Marco Polo being given a jade colored oil lamp containing vast amounts of mystical energy. As we continue to travel down through the ages, we see Madame Xanadu living through the volatile French Revolution, where she encounters an Aspect of Death, who grants her a gift and a warning. Later on, during the dreadful era of London’s Industrial Revolution, we bear witness to the lurking horror of Jack the Ripper, who is being used as a tool for the good of humanity. Finally, the wanton decadence of the previous century’s Roaring Twenties, where our heroine is finding her place amongst the agents of Order and Chaos.

Madame Xanadu #11 opens to find our protagonist has set up shop in New York during the 1940’s, as an occult private eye. She seems in her rightful place. After so much tragedy in her own life, she now seems able to finally and openly be able to help others in her own unique way. Without the cries of moral uproar over her occult proclivities, she is free to help a client whose father was burned, and I mean burned, in a bad way! Although this issue isn’t as magically intense as the others of the series, nor are there any revelations of great import, I find it that it starts us off in a new direction. As if the rest of the series was an introduction which was leading us to this issue, it does a superb job of setting us in the Noir genre and leaves the reader wanting more.

There haven't been a ton of toys based on the classic children's book Where The Wild Things Are sold in the USA, but there have been even fewer in Japan. Medicom has decided to fix this with the blind-boxed Where The Wild Things Are Kubricks Display Case. In it, you'll get 24 figures. Which figures? Well, of that we aren't sure, but there are at least 8 unique characters being crafted for this assortment with newly sculpted body parts based on the upcoming and oft-delayed Spike Jonez movie.

Where The Wild Things Are Kubricks Display CaseDescription:Imported from Japan! Based on designs from director Spike Jonze's live-action adaptation of Maurice Sendak's classic children's book - Where The Wild Things Are - these Kubrick figures bring the story's memorable characters, from the young boy Max to the Wild Things he meets in the forest of his imagination to life. Each figure stands approximately 2-inches tall and features the stylization and articulation collectors expect from Medicom's acclaimed Kubrick figures.

This case of 24 blind-packaged figures may include (subject to change):CarolMaxDouglasBullK.W.IraAlexanderJudith